Daily Devotional for August 17th

On Our Destiny

As a child of God, have you ever thought about your personal destiny? After all, can we know our destiny? The answer is both yes and no. “Yes”, the Bible is crystal clear about a faithful believer's destiny ─ eternal life and blessings in Heaven. Alternatively, any disbeliever in Jesus Christ as our Saviour will be doomed to the eternal punishment in Hell. “No”, the Bible is basically silent about the average believer's earthly destiny. The life and mission of the Lord Jesus is an obvious exception as is proclaimed in Hebrew (10:7) that“Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God, as it is written of me in the roll of the book.” (see also Luke 24:25-27)

When we refer to Bible characters such as Abraham, Moses, David, Ruth, Esther… and the Apostles, we may feel a strong sense of pre-destination in their destinies. In fact, I do believe that God has a plan for every one of us in Christ (see Eph. 2:10). Yes, we are created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. This reminds us that God prepared us long ago with a purpose, i.e. to do good works according to His will. Besides God, another important factor determining our life destiny is our freewill. The irony is that we were sinners under the bondage of sin until Christ has made us free (Gal. 5:1). The greatest freedom in Christ is exemplified by his sacrifice on the cross. The Apostle Paul therefore urges us not to use liberty for an occasion to the flesh after we are set free in Christ (Gal. 5:13). We should rather serve one another by love.

Brothers and Sisters, I certainly could not give you a clear answer on your earthly destinies. However, it is both a mystery and goodwill of God our Father and Jesus our Lord that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28). Hence, we may safely assure one another that our destiny in the Lord is linked to love and our freewill to serve God and the people around us. What is better out there than the promise of a blessed eternal life for the faithful believer? So, let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works (Heb.10:23 – 24).